Walmart thinks people are stupid enough to pay $4 a disk to convert DVDs to dead Ultraviolet (1 Viewer)

Sam Posten · Mar 12, 2012

The stupidity continues: http://blog.streamingmedia.com/the_business_of_online_vi/2012/03/report-walmart-to-charge-2-4-per-dvd-to-convert-movies-to-ultraviolet-cloud.html

Ruz-El · Mar 13, 2012

Just saw this. I knew the service was bunk from the get go, this is just proving it.

After you pay the $4, do the studios still have the right to take away your digital copy whenever they desire?

David Deeb · Mar 13, 2012

A 2nd article, courtesy of Home Media Magazine, gives more details including this which I'm sure will "delight" collectors: Chris Nagelson, VP of entertainment merchandising for Walmart, said discs that undergo the digital conversion will be stamped in the middle of the disc to prevent copies from being converted twice. http://www.homemediamagazine.com/walmart/walmart-bows-vudu-based-disc-digital-program-26664 The article also mentions that this program is: "a milestone", "revolutionary", " a game-changer", and “on the scale of a blockbuster film launch”. I see very little enthusiasm for this product by the core film buffs and collectors. Without them on board, I don't see this being a game changer, but maybe I'm wrong.

mattCR · Mar 13, 2012

They ended up making it $2 a disc.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/walmart-in-store-disc-to-digital-ultraviolet-conversion-gets-off/

If you own the BD, and you want HD, $2.

If you own the DVD and want SD, it's $2.

If you own the DVD and you want an HD digital copy: $5.

Steve Tannehill · Mar 13, 2012

Note that the title of this thread is misleading. Walmart is not converting the DVD/BD to UltraViolet...they are converting it to VuDu.

Cory S. · Mar 13, 2012

mattCR said:
They ended up making it $2 a disc. http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/walmart-in-store-disc-to-digital-ultraviolet-conversion-gets-off/ If you own the BD, and you want HD, $2. If you own the DVD and want SD, it's $2. If you own the DVD and you want an HD digital copy: $5.

Even though I'm pretty much in bed with Apple now that they've introduced movies in iTunes in the Cloud, I have to admit, I might do this for a few DVDs that haven't been watched in years. Via my PS3, I do all my renting through VUDU and I love the quality of the streaming with them. And with the VUDU player on the iPad, this might be something worth looking into. Granted, if I get my ass up, I could just technically pop in the disc in the player and not have to worry about having an internet connection. At the same time, I really want to get rid of these discs because frankly, I don't like having a DVD, BD, and digital library collection of films. I just want two and I think I want it to be BD and digital library.

Ruz-El · Mar 13, 2012

Here's an honest question: How is the streaming of a film compared to DVD? I ask because when Sony launched the movies in Canada on the PSN, they gave away a copy of "Charlies Angels" as a free download to whet your appetite. It had the opposite effect to me in that it turned me off of streaming/downloads from studios. It looked worse then my SD version of the film, and only had 2 channel stereo instead DD 5.1. As an experiment, I ripped my own copy of the film at the same file size only as a DIVX AVI file and it looked better with the same 2 channel stereo.

Has this changed? Are the digital files the studios are offering for download/streaming of the exact quality of the purchased ones or are they offering an inferior product at potentially* the same price? Charging $2 is $2 too much if you get a crappy digital copy of a film you already own, and frankly should have the right to do what you want with provided you aren't profiting from it.

*Potentially in that you can purchase HD downloads from the PSN store for nearly the same price as a retail disc that includes a supposed digital download. I'm yet to even attempt to use one of those digital download discs they insist on up-charging for, and am even less inclined to now that they probably have expired codes based on my friend attempting to use them prior to a vacation. That's real dirty pool, charging for a physical disc with a digital copy as a value add-in that expires. It gives me little faith in the studios with this ULTRAVOX nonsense.

Cory S. · Mar 13, 2012

Russell G said:
Here's an honest question: How is the streaming of a film compared to DVD? I ask because when Sony launched the movies in Canada on the PSN, they gave away a copy of "Charlies Angels" as a free download to whet your appetite. It had the opposite effect to me in that it turned me off of streaming/downloads from studios. It looked worse then my SD version of the film, and only had 2 channel stereo instead DD 5.1. As an experiment, I ripped my own copy of the film at the same file size only as a DIVX AVI file and it looked better with the same 2 channel stereo. Has this changed? Are the digital files the studios are offering for download/streaming of the exact quality of the purchased ones or are they offering an inferior product at potentially* the same price? Charging $2 is $2 too much if you get a crappy digital copy of a film you already own, and frankly should have the right to do what you want with provided you aren't profiting from it. *Potentially in that you can purchase HD downloads from the PSN store for nearly the same price as a retail disc that includes a supposed digital download. I'm yet to even attempt to use one of those digital download discs they insist on up-charging for, and am even less inclined to now that they probably have expired codes based on my friend attempting to use them prior to a vacation. That's real dirty pool, charging for a physical disc with a digital copy as a value add-in that expires. It gives me little faith in the studios with this ULTRAVOX nonsense.

Honestly, downloaded copies are not as good as DVDs. HD streaming, at least in my viewings on VUDU, are better than DVDs but not up to par with BD.

Towergrove · Mar 13, 2012

Originally Posted by Steve Tannehill

Note that the title of this thread is misleading. Walmart is not converting the DVD/BD to UltraViolet...they are converting it to VuDu.

Steve while the title of this thread is very misleading, your quote is also incorrect according to Vudu General Manager Ed Lichty it is most certainly Ultraviolet and you can even watch them on other UV clients if you so choose:

[COLOR= rgb(59, 59, 60)] [/COLOR]According to Edward Lichty, Vudu's general manager, uploading the movie to a digital format will put it into the UltraViolet cloud; users will be able to watch that movie with another UltraViolet-compatible client, such as Flixster, or take a previously purchased UV movie and view it using Vudu.

[url=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401511,00.asp]http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401511,00.asp

Steve Tannehill · Mar 13, 2012

Towergrove said:
Steve while the title of this thread is very misleading, your quote is also incorrect according to Vudu General Manager Ed Lichty it is most certainly Ultraviolet and you can even watch them on other UV clients if you so choose: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401511,00.asp

So it's a win-win for UVVU and VUDU users.

Towergrove · Mar 13, 2012

Originally Posted by Russell G

Here's an honest question: How is the streaming of a film compared to DVD? I ask because when Sony launched the movies in Canada on the PSN, they gave away a copy of "Charlies Angels" as a free download to whet your appetite. It had the opposite effect to me in that it turned me off of streaming/downloads from studios. It looked worse then my SD version of the film, and only had 2 channel stereo instead DD 5.1. As an experiment, I ripped my own copy of the film at the same file size only as a DIVX AVI file and it looked better with the same 2 channel stereo.

Has this changed? Are the digital files the studios are offering for download/streaming of the exact quality of the purchased ones or are they offering an inferior product at potentially* the same price? Charging $2 is $2 too much if you get a crappy digital copy of a film you already own, and frankly should have the right to do what you want with provided you aren't profiting from it.

*Potentially in that you can purchase HD downloads from the PSN store for nearly the same price as a retail disc that includes a supposed digital download. I'm yet to even attempt to use one of those digital download discs they insist on up-charging for, and am even less inclined to now that they probably have expired codes based on my friend attempting to use them prior to a vacation. That's real dirty pool, charging for a physical disc with a digital copy as a value add-in that expires. It gives me little faith in the studios with this ULTRAVOX nonsense.

Ultraviolet is not only a streaming service but also a digital download service. You have the choice to download your purchase if you prefer. The CFF Common file format for movie downloads should be ready soon.

Towergrove · Mar 13, 2012

Originally Posted by Steve Tannehill

So it's a win-win for UVVU and VUDU users.

I guess so. Im not sure if I want to go UV or iTunes? Confusing time we live in. Maybe I will just stick to my discs.

Sarah

Cory S. · Mar 13, 2012

Towergrove said:
I guess so. Im not sure if I want to go UV or iTunes? Confusing time we live in. Maybe I will just stick to my discs. Sarah

My wife made this analogy last night. It seems we're in the same situation we were in when there were two competing formats 6 years ago, BD and HD-DVD. Which one do you think we still around longer, Ultraviolet or Apple?

MattAlbie60 · Mar 14, 2012

I've been trying out Ultraviolet over the last few weeks, and have completely given up on it. I have five digital copies at this point - MONEYBALL, CONTAGION, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3, YOUNG ADULT and TINTIN. Does it allow you to stream or download a movie? Sure. But everything else about it - literally everything else - is awful. I have to sign up for multiple accounts across dedicated studio UV sites, and have a main UV account, in order to redeem stuff? Yes, brilliant. That won't lead to any problems, ever. If I forget which password is used for which site (as I just did), I get locked out of my account. However, if I've tried incorrect passwords too many times (as I just did), I get locked out of using the "Unlock my Account" portion of the main UV site. Those two things, by the way, happen at the exact same time. So by the time I've tried all my password possibilities (it's got to be one of those, right?

), I'm already locked out of unlocking the locked account. Cheers on making this way more complicated than it needs to be, Ultraviolet. And customer service appears to be nonexistent. I'd rather throw old DVDs away than pay Walmart to convert them to this nonsensical, failed-experiment of a format.

Sam Posten · Mar 14, 2012

Thank you for posting that Matt. You are a tougher person than me for even trying it out.

MattAlbie60 · Mar 14, 2012

Getting locked out of the main account seems to have a negative affect on all the subsidiary accounts, too. So whatever you do, don't forget the password for that one or you're screwed

Seriously, I get "it's brand new" and "growing pains" and all that - but this is nonsense.

Traveling Matt · Mar 14, 2012

mattCR said:
They ended up making it $2 a disc. http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/walmart-in-store-disc-to-digital-ultraviolet-conversion-gets-off/ If you own the BD, and you want HD, $2. If you own the DVD and want SD, it's $2. If you own the DVD and you want an HD digital copy: $5.

I wonder how they plan to convert a DVD to HD.

Ruz-El · Mar 14, 2012

Originally Posted by Traveling Matt

I wonder how they plan to convert a DVD to HD.

I bet they don't plan to convert anything but just move pre-done conversions to your account.

Be curious what would happen if someone brought an OOP obscure title.

MattAlbie60 · Mar 14, 2012

I'm thinking about taking in my copy of SALO to try it out, see what happens

It might be worth it.

Ruz-El · Mar 14, 2012

Originally Posted by MattAlbie60 It might be worth it.

Yeah, I was thinking of taking my copy of the extended cut of the original Wicker Man that came in that Anchor Bay wood boxset. Then I remember they stamp the discs. If they say it's not in their system, then you know that you're paying $2-$5 for a file to added to your account.

Which is ridiculous.

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